Live Review: Ali Barter, IV League

IV League, a Melbourne native band, used Adelaide as a springboard for their first interstate gig. Thrilled to be here, IV League went hard, despite seeming greener than Ali Barter. Their songs vibe the same as Ali Barter's; contemporary grunge and riot grrrl sounds with pop culture thrown in. A highlight of IV League was their song Jessica Lovejoy, an unreleased song about Bart Simpson's scandalous romantic interest.

Ali Barter was a different presence altogether. Intimate while also remaining cool, Barter whisks you in with her hard riffs and sweet voice. Not without attitude, Barter explored gender expectations in her Hottest 100 song, Girlie Bits (sitting at no less than #58 on the countdown), and Cigarette. The tone shifted though, with Barter's band leaving her to sing some smaller EP songs. Community, a high point of the gig, gave the audience the chance to build up some intimacy with Barter, and during song changes, she gave the banter back to her adoring audience. (No joke, more people screamed 'We LOVE you Ali Barter!' than we blinked).

Despite some technical difficulties — guitars that kept untuning and a few microphone sound drops — it was all handled with grace, humour and grunge.